THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies)

Postgraduate Course: Global Environment and Society (PGSP11359)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe idea of separation of modern human kind from nature has become a trope of our times, and has come to be seen as a component of 'modernity' ¿ in turn giving rise to protests and quests for 're'-unification with nature.

In this course we start from a different premise: that the relations between humans and nature are socially mediated, in other words that they cannot be conceived outside of social relations. We look at these relations through 3 main prisms: appropriation, rationalisation (the production of sameness), and livelihoods and communities ¿ and in three domains: mining, agriculture and food, and forest 'management'.
Course description The course examines relations between society and the 'environment' in terms of:

- Appropriation of/extraction from 'nature': here we investigate phenomena of 'primitive accumulation' and enclosure (as well as colonialism, neo-colonialism and processes of dispossession) ¿ especially in the context of the mining industry and its recent developments.

- Rationalisation of 'nature': the application of science and technique to industry (particularly from the 19th century onward) aims at making things calculable, mechanisable ¿ but also today traceable. Rational technologies, from fertilizers to technologies of audit, have looked to producing calculable 'sameness' ¿ thus inducing profound transformations both of natural processes and social relations; we look at this through the prism of industrial agriculture, GMOs, and seeds.

- Livelihoods and communities: the notion of community is interesting for its association with local economies involving specific modes of relation to the environment which differ from the dominant appropriation/rationalisation (although the notion of community is of course also mobilised by neoliberal programmes). We review key conceptions of the community and their implications for society/nature-environment relations especially through the prism of the forest, as communities have been more and more expected/tasked to 'manage' forests.

The final class addresses the politics of 'socio-environmental futures' ¿ and what that entails.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  15
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 4,000 word essay (75% of overall mark) plus a seminar mark (25%) comprised of student presentations, individual reports, and small group work. Students will be provided with specific guidance on seminar assessment in the first meeting.
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate extensive, critical and detailed knowledge of fundamental concepts in social science, as they apply to current environmental debates
  2. Engage critically with key social theorists through the lens of environmental issues
  3. Define, argue and review their own stance with regard to environment/society relations
  4. Demonstrate an ability to present - in written and verbal form - coherent, well argued and theoretically informed analyses of contemporary global environmental issues
  5. Demonstrate substantial autonomy and initiative in the preparation and organisation of research and coursework
Reading List
Balibar, E. (1995). The philosophy of Marx. Verso.

Bell, C., & Newby, H. (1976) 'Community, communion, class and community action: the social sources of the new urban politics'. Social areas in cities, 2, 189-207.

Godelier, M. (1986). The mental and the material: thought economy and society. London: Verso.

Guthman, J. (2004). Agrarian dreams: The paradox of organic farming in California Berkeley: University of California Press.

Hall, R. (2012). Diamond Mining in Canada's Northwest Territories: A Colonial Continuity. Antipode 45(2): 376-393.

Kloppenburg, J. R. Jr. (1988), First the Seed: The Political Economy of Plant Biotechnology, 1492-2000, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

McCarthy, J. (2005) 'Devolution in the woods: community forestry as hybrid neoliberalism.' Environment and Planning A, 37(6): 995-1014.
Polanyi, K. (2001). The Great Transformation: The Political And Economic Origins Of Our Time Beacon Press.

Prudham, S. (2013). Men and things: Karl Polanyi, primitive accumulation, and their relevance to a radical green political economy. Environment and Planning A, 45, 1569-1587.

Swyngedouw, E. (2010) 'Apocalypse Forever? Post-political Populism and the Spectre of Climate Change.' Theory, Culture & Society, 27(2-3): 213-232
Tsing, A. L. (2011). Friction: An ethnography of global connection. Princeton University Press.

Weber, Max (1927) General Economic History. Translated from the German by Frank H. Knight. London: George Allen & Unwin. Chapter 27.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Isabelle Darmon
Tel: (0131 6)51 1574
Email: Isabelle.Darmon@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Gillian Macdonald
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: gillian.macdonald@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information
 
© Copyright 2015 The University of Edinburgh - 18 January 2016 4:39 am